Riot police fired teargas and fought protesters with batons yesterday as
Ukraine plunged into political crisis over a new law that makes Russian an
official language in half of the country

Opposition leaders accused President Viktor Yanukovych’s ruling Party of
Regions of betraying Ukraine’s sovereignty. The Speaker of Parliament,
Volodymyr Lytvyn, submitted his resignation and denounced the new language
law, saying that it had been rushed through while he had been absent at a
meeting with the President. He told parliamentary deputies: “I have been
fooled, Ukraine has been fooled, the people have been fooled.”